Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
Nerd Alert Meme

1. Favorite childhood book?

Depends what age we're talking about. I read a lot as a kid, probably 20 picture books a week up to 2-3 novels each week as I got older. Even in high school, I read at least a book a week, speaking conservatively. So...The Little House, the Laura books, and the Narnia books are up there on the list, along with Alice in Wonderland and a bunch of others I'm not remembering right now. Oh! Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Pippi Longstocking!

2. What are you reading right now?

The Language of Houses, Written in My Own Heart's Blood on CD, Committed to Christ, The Language Hoax, I Am Number Four on ebook, Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006, Things That Go Bump in the Church on ebook, and probably a couple of others I can't remember.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

What We See When We Read, Midnight Crossroad on ebook, The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries, and Night of the White Buffalo. I've got some lists I'm working off of, but that's what's actually on hold tonight.

4. Bad book habit?

I read in the bathroom: in the tub, while brushing my teeth and flossing, whatever. Books tend to get wet in that room. I also dog-ear books, usually just those I own, though.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

Everything listed above in #2 except Committed to Christ which we're reading for church/Bible Study. Also checked out currently: Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country, A Fine Romance: Falling in Love With the English Countryside and Case Histories on ebook. And The Bridge, Season 1 (American version) on DVD.

6. Do you have an e-reader?

Yes. I have the newest version of the Nook.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

Uhm, let's see if you can figure that out, yo....

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

Yes, I read a bit less, and my 'reviews' have gotten briefer.

9. Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?

I was disappointed in the biography of Bob Fosse that came out last winter. Boring. How can a book about Fosse be boring?? I didn't get past his college-aged years. And easily the worst book I read--as in finished--was Hometown Revelations which desperately needed an editor, an organized mind, and someone to finish the research.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

The Night Circus was wonderful. Heads in Beds made me laugh, and feel more than vaguely uncomfortable about hotels. The Interestings was almost as good as its word-of-mouth, and so was The Book Thief. I loved The Likeness and Shotgun Lovesongs both for the same reason: the author puts you THERE in the location and mindset of the characters. And that's just the first half of the year!

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?

I try to read lots of different kinds of books, but I will admit that hard science and what I call "metal" science fiction (all about machinery and ships and fighting) enthuses me not at all. My comfort zone is pretty wide though: biographies, mysteries, literary fiction, history, teen books, essays, "soft" science, religion, speculative fiction, picture books, suspense, humor, sociology, art history

12. What is your reading comfort zone?

Oops, see above.

13. Can you read on the bus?

I can, but only if I look up often or I'm far away from windows. Reading in the car is absolutely not happening. Motion sickness is me.

14. Favorite place to read?

In bed. But really...anywhere, except inside a moving car.

15. What is your policy on book lending?

I don't really own enough books that people want to borrow, but in general my theory is that books are meant to be read, so I would give the books to people who wanted to read them...without a strong expectation of their return.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?

Yes. Often. Sue me, ok?

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

I do. Not as often as I might like, definitely not as often as I used to.

18. Not even with text books?

Oh, those I wrote ALL OVER!

19. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

I can't believe, even 30 years later, how much I enjoyed Crime and Punishment in college!

20. What makes you love a book?

Plot. Characterization. Well-written sentences, paragraphs, chapters. I like when the author doesn't waste my time--Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy, I'm looking at you, you giNORmous wasters of space! (When these two are good, they are very good, but they are often just Wordy McWordsters.) I don't like Hemingway, but I appreciate his pared-down style. What I love about the books I love is that I'm somehow INSIDE the book, making the same discoveries and seeing the same things as the characters, and yet aware of things they aren't because of the skills of the author.